Statt



(No Model.)

A. J. GRAPENSTATT & W. TWEEDIE.

SODAMOTOR.

N0. 350,428. Patented Oct. 5, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC v ARNOLD J. GRAFENSTATT AND \VILLIAM TlVEEDIE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MIN N.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent bio-350,428, dated October 5, 18 86.

Application filed May 2i, 1886. Serial No. 202,929. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ARNOLD J. GRAFEN- STATT and WILLIAM TWEEDIE, citizens of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, Hennepin county, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soda-Motors, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention was especially designed to meet the requirements of rapid transit streetrailways, which run a greater or less portion of their course on thoroughfares in the midst of adensepopulation. Dummysteam-engines were so objectionable on account of noise and smoke as to amount to a nuisance. A motor was demanded which would be noiseless, free from smoke, capable of continuous use, economical in cost of running, and capable of be-- ing compactly built in small compass. Sodamotors met these requirements in a measure, but as constructed prior to our invention developed defects and limitations peculiar to themselves, whichit is the object of our invention to overcome.

Our invention relates to soda-motors, so called, in which caustic soda, potash, concentrated lye, or other similar material is used as a fuel or means for generating steam; and it has for its object to evaporate the Water and moisture from the soda or other chemical without the discharge of the soda from the boiler of the soda-motor, and to producea constant, efficient, and cheappower for engines.

I As now used, the soda comes from the man ufactory in solid blocks incased in metal. At the fixed station this is liquefied and heated to a very high degree, 230 or 240 centigrade. It is then run by pipes into the soda-boiler of v the soda-motor, where it acts as a fuel or resboiler on the motor.

ervoir of heat, generatingsteam from the steam- The steam is then appliedin the ordinary way, with this important differenceviz., the exhaust -'steam is con- This exhauststeam is so disposed of chiefly for the reason that the soda has a limited high absorbent power for steam, serving as a vacuum for the reception of the exhaust-steam, thereby avoiding the work of resistance to the atmospheric pressure required when the exhaust is made into the air. This the soda will do for a limited time-i. 6., up to the point when it bethe application of superheated steam. Meantime, or until other soda before prepared is placed in the soda-boiler, the engine must stand idle.

Owing to the limit in time within which the soda will act as a fuel before becoming supercharged with moisture, the soda-motor is only suitable for short trips, and must return within the limit to the fixed station,where expensive appliances are necessary to prepareand replace the soda. It is to overcome these defects in the present soda-motor, and toenable the use of the same soda indefinitely without removal from the boiler, with the consequent great saving of time, labor, and expense, that we have made our invention.

By our invention we evaporate the moisture from the soda while in position in the boiler. We do this by the application of heat. The means herein shown and described are a series of j ets placed under a caustic-soda boiler, which are supplied through pipes with oil or gas or spirits from suitable tanks. Any other suitable means for applying the heat may be employed. The means herein shown we have conceived and perfected and claim as of our sole inventionrbut we do not desire to be limited to these means alone, but claim the process, by whatever means applied.

In accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is an end view, of the two boilers as designed by us to be used for the soda -'motor, showing the construction employed by us for applying our process.

Similar letters of reference refer to like parts throughout.

A is the upper half of cylinder and is the steam-boiler.

B is the lower half of the cylinder and is the soda-boiler containing the caustic soda, potash, concentrated lye, or other chemical which is used as a fuel to generate steam.

c c c is an oil-tube provided with anumber of burner-jets and communicating with oil tanks or reservoirs, which are seeurel y placed in any convenient position above the line of jets. Stop-cocks are placed on the communicating oil-tubes at any convenient points intermediate the tanks and line of jets for controlling the supply of oil. Any suit-able illuminating oil or gas or spirits may be usedsuch as gasoline, common gas, benzine, camphine, kerosene, paraiiine, naphtha, turpentine, alcohol, or tallow,

D D are escape-pipes for the evaporated moisture, and are attached to the soda-boiler B at any' suitable convenient point. These escapepipes are provided with stop-cocks, so as to close off the evaporation whenever the soda reaches the required temperature.

F Fis a box under the soda-boiler, in which the jets are placed in proper position for heating the boiler 13.

E E are ventilation-tubes attached to the box FF and leading to the air or any convenient place.

Under the box F F is a ventilation door or slide for. supplying the air requisite for combastion.

Any number of oil'tubes with jets may be placed under the sodaboiler and within the box F F, according to the need.

The boilersA and B maybe arranged in any suitable and convenient position with reference to each other. The steam-boiler A may have any number of tlues suspended into or passing through the soda-boiler, or may have any other suitable construction to give it a large heating-surface. This boiler is of a special construction, (not herein fully described,) invented by us for this especial purpose, and we reserve the right to apply for a patent on the same in another application. The exhaust-steam from the engine is conducted into the soda -boiler by pipes. (Not shown in the drawings.)

The engine (not shown) may be any ordinary steam-engine.

In operation, by our process and construction, whenever the soda becomes so charged with moisture or ceases for any reason to act as a fuel or steam-generator the attendant engineer simply opens the escape-pipes D D, turns on the oil. or gas from the tanks by the proper stopcocks, and lights the jets. In a short time the moisture will have been evaporated and the soda reheated to a high degree 01' heat. The escape-pipes may be then closed and the jets turned off, and the caustic soda is again ready to act as in the first place. In practice we would not wait until the soda entirely ceases to act, but, on the contrary, would apply our process the moment that the gage began to show back-pressu re in the soda'boiler. Thus the engine need not be stopped, but may be run indefinitely, the same process being repeated whenever required while the train is in motion. The fixed station,

with all its expensive appliances for preparing and rcpreparing the caustic soda, is entirely done away with, and the limitations to the present soda-motor are removed.

A material part of our invention, upon which we place high Value and for which we seek protection, is the joint application of caustic soda or other chemical having the qualities requisite to give the necessary body, and oil, gasoline, gas, spirits, petroleunnor their equiv alent, which, when burned, ive the necessary intensity, the two together making a steamgenerator far superior to either alone or to wood or coal. Soda alone could not be used, save only as is now done on the old soda motor-i. a, merely as a reservoir of heat. Oil, gas, gasoline, and spirits when used alone have great intensity, but little body. \Ve claim to have been the first to have discovered that the one supplies j ust what the other needs, and to have applied this principle to the generation of steam.

The great intensity of the heat from the oil, gas, or their equivalent quickly raises the soda to the required initial temperature or evaporates the moisture and restores the heat after supereharge, thus enabling the engine to be run a far greater portion of the time without fire, avoiding smoke and the blast-noise nuisance during the short interval when the fire is used, securing a great saving in time, a compactness of construction saving much space and weight, and enables the continuous use of the engine. Wood or coal will not raise the soda to a high temperature quickly, but require a long time, for the reason that the fire must be kindled and a large bed of live coals accumulated before the heat becomes suiliciently intense to become effective.

In the foregoing specification we have described our process as applied to locomotives. It will of course be understood that it is just as applicable to stationary engines, and generally wherever it is required to generate steam.

Ve desire protection on the entire process herein shown and described and on the means and all equivalent means of applying the same.

We claim, broadly, as our invention 1. The process of the continuous generation of power by the use of caustic soda or equivalent, which consists in applying said caustic soda or equivalent in a heated condition to the boiler within an inclosing-ease, and regenerating and rch eating said caustic soda or equivalent, when desired, by applying heat to the exterior of said inclosing-case, substantially as described.

2. The novel process herein disclosed for producing and utilizing power, consisting in (a) raising caustic soda or other equivalent chemicals to a high initial temperature and evaporating the moisture from the same by means of oil, gas, gasoline, spirits,or petroleum burned directly underneath the reservoir containing said soda; (1)) applying the heat from the caustic soda to the steam-generator; (0) ap plying the steam thus produced through the ordinary engine; (d) absorbing the exhauststeam from the engine into the caustic soda up to the point of supercharge; (e) the reconcen- IIO tration of the soda and restoration of initial temperature whenever required by step (a) without removal of the soda from the boiler.

3. The combination of a eombustionchamber containing a series ofjets for the burning of oil, gas, gasoline, spirits, or petroleum, a boiler containing caustic soda or other equivalent chemicals,and a steam generator or boiler containing water, said causticsoda boiler being placed intermediate the jets and the steamboiler and in immediate contact with eachsubstantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

4. Means, substantially as described, for applying heat to a soda-boiler when in working position on a soda-motor, in combination with means for allowing the escape of the evaporated moisture from the soda-boiler, for the purpose set forth.

5. Means, substantially as described, for applying heat to a soda-boiler when in working position on tl1esoda-motor,in combination with means for allowing the escape of the evaporated moisture from the soda'boiler, and means for controlling the supply of heat and the escape of the moisture, for the purpose set forth.

6. A series of tubes provided with jets, means all in combination, for the purpose set forth.

7. A series of tubes provided withjets,means for supplying oil or gas to the same, a sodaboiler in working position ona soda-motor, escape-pipes for the evaporated moisture, and means for controlling the supply of oil and gas and the escape of the evaporated moisture, in combination, for the purpose set forth.

8. Aseries of tubes provided with j ets,means for supplying oilor gas to the same, a sodaboiler in working position on a soda-motor, escape pipes for the evaporated moisture, meansfor controlling the supply of oil and the escape of the evaporated moisture, a combustion-chamber underneath the soda-boiler provided with means for supplying the air necessary for combustion, all in combination,substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

ARNOLD J. GRAFENSTAT'I'. WILLIAM TWEEDIE.

\Vitnesscs:

W. S. DERBY, J AS. F. WTLLIAMsoN. 

